STATE PREP WRESTLING: Hill's Golobokov following Russian tradition of excellence

Kostya Golobokov, top, has only been wrestling since becoming a student at The Hill School, but the Russia-born Golobokov has shot out to a 25-10 record entering this weekend's PA Independent Schools Tournament at Episcopal Academy. (Kevin Hoffman/The Mercury)

POTTSTOWN — Growing up in Moscow, Kostya Golobokov was well aware of his country’s storied wrestling history.

So a few years ago, when a friend offered him the opportunity to try out for a team…

“I wasn’t interested,” Golobokov recalled. “I knew wrestling was really big in Russia, but I just wasn’t interested. I guess I was too lazy.”

Just over a year ago, or soon after arriving at The Hill School, Golobokov had a little chat with assistant coach Tom Hutchinson, who in his long career worked with one of Russia’s all-time greats, Sergei Beloglazov — a six-time world champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist.

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“(Hutchinson) talked to Kostya, told him that Russian wrestlers are among the best in the world, and he should try wrestling,” Hill School head coach Mark Pearson said. “He came out, and you could tell right away he liked it.”

Golobokov certainly does like it.

After spending last season learning the basics — and getting about a handful of matches — he spent a month during his summer break at the J. Robinson Intensive Camp, which is more like a four-week wrestling boot camp, at the University of Minnesota. He also competed with the Pennsylvania Cadet Team at the Florida Duals.

When he returned to the Blues’ practice room this past November, he didn’t look at all like the somewhat awkward heavyweight who hadn’t even stepped on a wrestling mat before stepping on the Hill campus.

So, yes, it is a bit of a surprise the imposing 6-foot-4, 260-pound Golobokov will be one of The Hill School’s potential medalists when the 26th renewal of the Pennsylvania Independent Schools State Wrestling Tournament gets under way this afternoon at Episcopal Academy.

“When I first got here I actually tried out for the basketball team,” the 16-year-old Golobokov explained. “But there were too many kids that year, and I didn’t make the team. That meant I had to try (indoor) track or wrestling. I decided on wrestling.”

Decided, with a little help from Hutchinson, that is.

“I did like it at first,” admitted Golobokov, the son of Andrey and Svetlana Golobokov, who still reside in Moscow. “I liked it because the practices were tough. I liked the competition.

“But I’m still learning. Over in Russia you train for two years before you even get into any competition. So I’m still working on things, taking everything one step at a time.”

Pearson feels Golobokov is taking — and making — big strides, too.

“We started him out learning technique his first year here,” Pearson said. “He has that good leverage, good strength. He moves well, too.

“He has some natural ability, but still has a lot to work on. But Kostya is all about work.”

The unwavering work ethic enabled Golobokov to take third in the season-opening Caruso Tournament, fifth at the Bethlehem Catholic Tournament, and sixth at the recent Escape the Rock Invitational at Council Rock South. He’s 25-10 going into today’s opening round at Episcopal.

“He’s picking up the right techniques,” Pearson said. “He’s figured out how to do things on his feet. He’s very aggressive on his feet, and wins a lot of matches with his endurance.”

“I wasn’t that aggressive when I first started, but it’s something I’ve learned,” Golobokov added. “I just didn’t know what to do when I started. But a lot of things have come with experience.”

Like winning.

* * *

The Hill School has two returning medalists — Chad Saunders (fourth) and Nick Flanigan (sixth) — in this weekend’s championships. Saunders, a state runner-up two years ago, and Flanigan (36-8) are 30-5 and 36-8, respectively.

West-Mont Christian’s Austin Mortimer and Zach Coffey will both look to improve on their fourth-place finishes of a year ago. Mortimer and Coffey are 17-2 and 15-1, respectively, for head coach Jason Meister, a former state medalist at Phoenixville and two-time national champion at Baptist Bible College.

Wyoming Seminary, ranked second behind Blair Academy in the national prep rankings, ran away with last year’s team title, finishing with an 84.5-point spread over runner-up Germantown Academy. The Blue Knights are expected to do the same once again by the time the tournament concludes Saturday afternoon.

NOTES

The area’s last gold medalist at state preps was recent Hill graduate Colin Saunders — Chad’s older brother — who swept the 119-pound bracket four years ago. … The Hill School has had 29 state champions and 127 medalists overall since the state prep tournament began. Those 29 rank fourth behind Haverford School (33), Wyoming Seminary (39) and Germantown Academy (71). … West-Mont Christian has had one champion and 15 medalists overall. … Perkiomen School had two champions and 28 medalists before dropping the wrestling program a few years ago. … The tournament actually began in 1946 as the Episcopal Wrestling Tournament (EWT) for Philadelphia-area private schools, then became an official statewide prep championship meet in 1988.